Of Typewriters And Guitars
by Koujo Lin
Summary: AU.Byakuya is a writer tired of his boring life. Renji is a loud musician who just moved in. ByaRen


Drip

Drop

Drip

The sound of the water droplets echoed through the room. An empty whiskey bottle rested on top of the table, next to it a glass half empty with clear liquid and a cigarette stub at the bottom. A dark haired man rested his head on the smooth surface of the wooden table, his eyes closed and his breathing deep. Next to him an old and rusty typewriter sat, only a single sentence written: 'I give up'.

The light kept flickering on and off at times and a cold gust of wind escaped from the small opening of the window. The man shivered slightly as his eyes slid open revealing his tired icy blue eyes. He groaned as he raised his head, his vision was blurry and his head was spinning.

_'Shouldn't have had so many drinks last night' _He told himself.  
Rising on his feet he walked over to the bedroom and collapsed onto the soft bed. He reached for his old comforter and draped it over his body and waited for sleeps calming embrace. Unfortunately for him it never came as loud music began to play in the next apartment, Byakuya wanted to curse whoever lived there as he covered his head with his fluffy pillow.

----||----

Renji's fingers practically danced on the strings of his new electric guitar, his soul poured into his music as his head bounced up and down with the rythm.

Having recently moved into this place after he moved to Tokyo with his band members in an attempt to put themselves on the map. It wasn't going too well but the guys were determined to become professional musicians. It had been their dream since they were little troublemakers.

Finally he let down his guitar and took a deep breath. He was definitely improving but something was amiss. But what? An annoyed sigh escaped his lips as he plumped onto his couch, just staring at the roof. A few tiny cracks were there and some odd stains but for the money he paid for this it was a paradise. Pity his buddies hadn't been so lucky with their living arrangements. Ikkaku was living close to a train station in a tiny apartment, Hisagi next to an airport and Ichigo was lucky that his father was living nearby.

_Grrrlll_

Renji's stomach growled at him, scolding him for not eating breakfast. Like he hadn't gotten enough of that from his mother.

Rising onto his feet once again he snatched his wallet and headed out to the little shop down the street. He turned around to lock before he left and heard the door opposite of his close.

"Oh, hey. I'm Renj-" Renji started but when he saw his 'neighbor' he came to a sudden stop.

The man looked so...tired. His eyes were baggy, his hair was all tangled and messy and his white shirt was covered with what seemed to be black ink stains.

"You look awful." Renji stated without thinking.

The man raised an eyebrow as Renji quickly covered his mouth. "Sorry.."  
"Don't worry about it." The man muttered.

"Ah, well...I'm Abarai Renji." Renji introduced himself with a grin.

"Kuchiki Byakuya." Byakuya said his tone indifferent.

"That writer guy? What's someone like you doing in a place like this...and looking like shit." Renji asked once again eyeing the man from top to bottom.

Byakuya frowned. "I think that is none of your business." He said and went back inside his apartment, slamming the door shut.

"Ouch."

---|---

Renji returned to his apartment holding his sandwich in one hand and soda can in the other. Step by step, he walked up the old stairs up to the third floor where he was currently living. He yawned and turned the key, with a clank the door was unlocked and he turned the knob, opening the old wooden door.

Everything was a mess. And he'd only been here for three days! Paper cups everywhere, some still had a little of beer in them, a pizza box with three slices of uneaten pepperoni pizza and dirty shirts all over the floor. He had to admit he was the worst kind of bachelor...ever.

Sighing, Renji began picking up his shirts and putting them into an old basket to take them to the laundromat across the street. Picking up the last shirt, he raised the basket up and walked back outside, groaning when he crashed into some unexpected wall and his shirts flew all over the hallway.

Rubbing his head he looked at the 'wall' he had crashed into. "Byakuya?"

"Next time watch where you're going, Abarai." Byakuya remarked coldly, his lips set in a frown.

"Sorry but if you didn't notice I couldn't see anything from the pile of clothes I was holding!" Renji was getting a little too annoyed with his attitude.

Byakuya just stared Renji into the eye, his expression unreadable. Renji sighed and started to pick up his shirts, determined to ignore the other man for now.

"Here." Renji looked up to see Byakuya handing him a few shirts, too stunned to move.

Byakuya sighed and threw the shirts in the basket and finally turned back to Renji. "Planning to get up anytime soon?" He asked handing the red-head his hand.

Renji was confused, why did the guy turn from annoyingly rude to...nice? Shrugging. He took his hand and got up on his feet once again. "Thanks."

Byakuya murmured something and quickly returned back into his apartment. Renji just shrugged and carried on his way.

---|---

Renji got back about seven, having met with Ikkaku at the laundromat they decided to practice some songs with the rest of the gang, they had a gig on Saturday and they needed to be at their best. Staring at his door he began to wonder about his neighbor, he was strange but....at least he seemed nice but since he didn't know the man too much he couldn't judge him, _yet_. The microwave beeped impatiently, telling him the leftover pizza was ready. He snatched a small can of beer from the fridge and sat down in front of the small TV with his dinner. Fuck yeah, Die Hard was on tonight.

After watching Hans Gruber fall to his death, he heard a loud thump and something breaking from the hallway. He quietly peeked outside through a crack in his door, what he saw was quite surprising.

His neighbor, Byakuya Kuchikuchi something, was crouching on the floor, his palms were bloody from the glass that was spread pretty much everywhere on the floor. Renji could hear him curse with an angry slurry voice, so he was drunk Renji wondered as he opened his door.

"Oi, Byakuya." Renji said to make himself known.

A chilly glare was sent his as the man turned to look at him.

"You okay?" He asked looking at the other mans palms.

"....I...fell." Byakuya said as he picked glass out of his hand. Renji winced as he saw the man pick a rather large piece from the wound.

"C'mon, I have a first aid kit in my place." He said crouching down to his elders level.

"I'm fine." Byakuya whispered.

"You're bleeding." Renji pointed out. "Badly."

"I'm _fine_." Byakuya said louder.

"You're drunk and crawling on glass..you're not fine." Renji folded his arms.

"I said I'm fi-" Byakuya could not finish the sentence as he lost consciousness and was about to fall onto the floor when Renji grabbed the mans shoulders.

He sighed. "Better get you inside, eh?" He said with a slight smile. He flipped the other mans arm around his shoulders and raised him up a little to carry him back into his apartment. Looking back at the glass and blood on the floor, he shrugged.

_"The maid will clean it."_

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I've been planning this fic for almost a year now, wrote most of the parts months ago but it got lost on the computer (That's what I get for forgetting file names). Curenntly looking for a beta so please pm if interested.

Also, if you're wondering about the 'maid', it'll be explained next chapter


End file.
